Allstate, Amazon.com, Amgen, F5 Networks: U.S. Equity Preview

By Lu Wang

Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The following companies may have unusual price changes tomorrow in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and share prices are as of 5:30 p.m. in New York, unless otherwise specified.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in December added 5.20, or 0.6 percent, to 908.20. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 478, or 5.3 percent, to 8,557. Nasdaq-100 Index futures gained 1.50, or 0.1 percent, to 1,249.50.

Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS US) rose $2.84, or 6 percent, to $50. The credit-card processor boosted its forecast for 2008 earnings by 5 cents a share to $4.40 a share. Analysts, on average, expected the company to earn $4.37, according to a Bloomberg survey.

Allstate Corp. (ALL US): The largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer suspended share repurchases after investment losses and claims from Hurricane Ike caused the first unprofitable quarter since Katrina hit in 2005. The stock dropped 12 percent to $28.23 in regular trading.


Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN US) fell $6.88, or 14 percent, to $43.11. The world's largest Internet retailer said its full-year sales and operating income would be lower than it originally projected.

Amgen Inc. (AMGN US) gained $2.30, or 4.6 percent, to $52. The world's largest biotechnology company said third-quarter profit rose more than fivefold as sales of its anemia drugs increased. The company forecast full-year earnings of at least $4.45 a share, topping the average estimate of $4.37 by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV US) rose $2.22, or 11 percent, to $22. The maker of products that manage companies' computer networks forecast first-quarter earnings that topped some analysts' estimates and said it plans to buy back as much as $200 million of its shares.

Seagate Technology (STX US) fell 50 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $7.50. The world's biggest maker of hard-disk drives posted an 83 percent drop in first-quarter profit and forecast earnings that missed analysts' estimates after the slowing economy reduced demand for computers.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lu Wang in New York at lwang8@bloomberg.net